Family Values
by Once.Evil.Regal
Summary: One late night nose bleed ends up changing Olivia's life drastically. She soon find herself fighting not only the forces trying to stop her, but also her disbelieving co-workers and her own fierce rage. Olivia-centric; not E/O
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**This story will include a lot of French, so rather than translate it all the time I'm just going to write in English. Just assume that when Olivia and the boy are talking to each other, it's in French.  
**

Olivia was stretched out of her bed, hands behind her head, unable to sleep. It had been a growing problem lately and she sometimes took a dose of whatever medicine she had that would cause drowsiness. Tonight, though, she didn't have to work the next day, so instead of taking a couple Benadryl she got up to make herself something to eat. Feeling ambitious and seeing she had no more pre-made spaghetti in the freezer, she decided to make more sauce, along with enough spaghetti for at least two meals, which she could finish later. She often made large meals and ate them over the course of several days or froze them for later so she didn't have to cook as often. Her cooking wasn't terrible, it was actually pretty good considering her mother had never taught her how, but she didn't have time for it.

When the sauce was done, she put most of it into plastic containers and then into the freezer. Then she put some of the finished spaghetti on her plate and poured the rest of the sauce on top. Before she could take a mouthful, though, she heard a loud bang outside, like something hitting her door hard, and then a sort of yelp. She grabbed her gun, more out of instinct than anything, and peered out the peephole. Seeing nothing, she carefully opened the door, and quickly hid her gun when she saw what had happened.

A little boy, no more than five or six, was standing outside her door, clutching a bleeding nose in one hand and a rubber ball in the other. Obviously his aim was off, and it had bounced of Olivia's door right back at his nose. Normally she might just smile and offer to clean the little boy up, but it was almost 3 o'clock in the morning and there didn't appear to be any adult with the boy. He was dressed in nice – if not exactly brand new – clothes, which meant he probably had a home somewhere.

Olivia kneeled down so she could look in the little boy's terrified eyes. He was looking around and is trying to find the best escape route, probably thinking Olivia would be angry, but he stayed rooted to the spot. When Olivia spoke, his eyes darted back to meet hers. "Would you like to come in and wash up?" As she spoke, she slid her gun carefully behind the door so the boy wouldn't see it.

Again he looked around, like a trapped animal seeking escape, but he didn't move. When he looked at Olivia again, he let out a tiny whimper. "It's okay, I'm a police officer, see?" Olivia held out the badge she had left – thankfully – on the small table next to the door where she always kept her keys. The little boy dropped the ball and took the badge, studying it carefully, then looked again at Olivia helplessly.

Olivia held up her hand for the boy to stay where he was, and he nodded nervously. She grabbed a cloth from the kitchen, wet it and wrung it out in the sink, then took it back to him. He took it and wiped the blood from his nose and mouth carefully, wincing when she touched his nose. When his arm moved, she caught a glimpse of the front of his t-shirt. Olivia was pretty sure whatever was written on it wasn't on English, but she hadn't seen enough.

"Habla espanol?" Olivia tried. The boy glanced up at her again, but said nothing. "Parles-tu francais?" This time the boy's eyes widened and he nodded. Olivia was grateful he spoke French rather than Spanish, because her French skills were much stronger.

"Where are your parents?" Olivia asked him.

"My mom is at work. I…I forget my key." His eyes were brimming with tears.

"Why don't you come inside? You can wash up in the bathroom and then sleep on the couch until your mom gets home."

The boy shook his head. "No, I'm not supposed to talk to strangers, mom will be mad!"

Olivia pointed to the badge again. "I'm a police officer. It's my job to keep children safe."

He seemed to consider this for a while, looking carefully at the badge again, then finally nodded. Olivia led him into the apartment. She managed to pick up her gun again without him seeing and stuck it in her coat pocket before closing and locking the door again. She took him into the bathroom, where she helped him wash his hands and his face, then she filled the sink with water and let the bloody towel soak while she got another one for him from the kitchen. It wasn't bleeding much anymore, but Olivia knew he'd need to go to the hospital in the morning to make sure his nose wasn't broken.

She found out his name was Etienne, and he had only left his home in Dieppe a few months ago because his mom got a job offer in New York. She worked crazy hours and often went out after work to meet with people or have drinks with her co-workers. It was Etienne's responsibility to remember his key so he could get in the apartment after school. After school he had gone to a friend's house after going home to pack his things, but when he changed out of his muddy jeans he forgot to put his key in his new jeans. So when he got home just before nine, he had been locked out. Olivia couldn't believe no one had noticed him before then. When he was cleaned up, she went back into the hallway and found his backpack with various toys and a pair of pajamas in it, along with the ball that had hit him in the nose. Back in her apartment, Etienne was standing in the kitchen. Olivia could actually hear his stomach growling as he looked at her plate of spaghetti.

She smiled. "Do you want some?" Etienne shook his head, but Olivia lifted him onto the counter and set the plate in his lap anyway. He picked up the fork and started eating, slurping up the long noodles, turning his mouth slowly orange with the sauce. His nosebleed seemed to have stopped.

After finishing the plate of spaghetti – with some help from Olivia – Etienne curled up on the couch, a towel under his head just in case the nosebleed started again, and fell asleep. Olivia finally had a chance to really look at him. He was small for his age, she saw, his limbs practically drowning in his jeans and hoodie. His hair was dark brown and his skin had only the barest touch of brown even though he probably spent plenty of time outdoors. His eyes, she had seen earlier, were a bright, icy blue unlike any she'd ever seen. It broke her heart to think that he had spent hours in the hall because his mother had left him alone. Olivia would have a few words for that women when she showed up. That was the last thing she thought before she fell asleep, the door open in case Etienne woke up.

Olivia awoke several hours later with a start to the sound of pounding on her door. This time it was someone knocking rather than the single bang of Etienne's ball. When she went into the living room, she was amazed to see Etienne still sound asleep, despite the noise, a tiny smile on his face as if her were having a pleasant dream. A small smile touched her own lips, until she opened the door. "I'm sorry to wake you, but my son is missing and I was just wondering…" The woman looked flustered and started babbling in rapid French.

"No, no, he's okay, he's here," Olivia said reassuringly.

"What? In your apartment?" Now she seemed angry.

"He was laying with his ball in the hallway and hurt his nose. He said he forgot his key so I invited him in."

"He went into a stranger's apartment?" The colour in her face was rising with anger and she brushed past Olivia towards the couch where her son was still sleeping.

"No, no, I'm a police officer. I showed him my badge; he's perfectly safe here."

"Don't come near my son again." She scooped up her son, who barely even opened his eyes, and started back towards the door.

Olivia held up her hand to stop her. "He's only a little boy. You can't leave him alone in your apartment, and he's too young to have his own key to remember. If I ever find out he's alone in your apartment again, I'll have you arrested." The woman just glared at Olivia and then brushed past her angrily. Olivia glimpsed them going into their apartment and memorized the number. As she watched the woman turn to put her keys in the lock, she noticed Etienne's shirt had been pushed up by his mother's arm and his back looked oddly dark. Olivia was too far away to see anything clearly, but it looked like a large bruise.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Hey, Liv, I thought you were off today?" Munch asked when Olivia entered the squadroom.

Olivia just shrugged and draped her coat over the chair at her desk. Elliot was sitting at his own desk across from her. "What happened to your day off?" He asked, looking up at her.

"I need to look into something." She carefully avoided his gaze as she started up her computer and started searching through various databases. Navigating her way through complicated records was a breeze, and it didn't take long for her to find what she was looking for.

Alicia Cadot used to live in Dieppe, a beautiful town in northern France right next to the ocean, with her husband Antoine Cadot. They were divorced six and a half years ago, which meant either Alicia was pregnant when it happened or her youngest son wasn't Antoine's. Olivia suspected an affair was probably the cause of the divorce, just based on the timeline. She dug a little deeper and found the names and birthdays of Alicia's children; Evangeline Cadot, now 16, and Etienne Cadot, soon to be six. His birthday coincided with the divorce, as Olivia suspected, and according to his birth certificate his father's name was Victor Delamotte.

Olivia jotted down a few notes, including Etienne's upcoming birthday, and continued her search. Alicia had a dual citizenship because her father was originally from the U.S. and had moved to France at a young age, where he met her mother. She had moved to New York only four months ago, with her son, who had also been granted dual citizenship because of his mother, and because he had been born in Chicago. Olivia couldn't find any record of where Evangeline was living, but she doubted it was with Alicia because she was emancipated at the age of fifteen. There were no allegations of abuse against Alicia, Antoine or Victor, but that meant little in Olivia's mind.

"Need some help with something?" Elliot asked when he had finished the report he was working on and saw Olivia copying out more information.

Olivia looked up at him. He had been her partner for a decade, and she trusted him with her life, but she wasn't sure how much she could tell him about her suspicions. Finally she sighed and shook her head. "It's nothing, I'm probably just overreacting."

Olivia continued to dig, trying to find an address for Evangeline, but without success. Finally she gave up and started searching for Victor's information, which turned out to be much easier to find; he was still in France. To finish off her search, Olivia found Alicia's work schedule. It really was erratic, but Olivia suspected she spent a lot of time out with friends even after work. After writing down when she would be away, she shut off the computer. Alicia wouldn't be working again until tomorrow, but until then there was still a missing piece of information that was driving Olivia crazy.

"Should I tell Cap you were here?" Elliot asked.

"Don't bother. I'll see you tomorrow." They both gave quick waves and then Olivia was out the door, heading to Computer Crimes.

"Hey, Liv, what brings you back here?" Morales greets her. He is sitting behind his usual array of various technical equipment.

"I need to find someone. Evangeline Cadot, I can't find a record of her after the age of 15. She's probably not even in the country but I need to make sure."

Morales nodded and plugged the information into his computer. "You think she had something to do with a case?"

"She might have some important information if she's here."

"Says here she was emancipated. Court records say she's living with her grandparents…in Queens. Here's the address." He wrote it down on a slip of paper and handed it to Olivia.

"Great, thanks." Olivia wasn't exactly sure why she wanted to address, or what she was going to do now that she had it. Did she really think Etienne was being abused? Being left home alone, especially at night in New York, was something Olivia intended to stop. But maybe his mother was just having a hard time adjusting, maybe there were extenuating circumstances Olivia just couldn't see. And that dark spot on Etienne's back didn't mean anything, either. It had been dark in the hallway, and Olivia had been far away. The spot could have been no more than a trick of the light, or even something imagined by Olivia's already suspicious mind. She had worked so long with dysfunctional families and abusing parents that she didn't know what a good parent really looked like anymore.

Still, Evangeline's emancipation was bothering Olivia. Why would she want to be on her own at such a young age unless there was something seriously wrong at home? Under other circumstances, Olivia might consider the option that Evangeline was just a stubbornly independent teenager, but the fact that she had gone to live with her grandparents made her think otherwise; Morales's records showed Evangeline had gone to live with her grandparents right after the emancipation. Which meant she didn't want to live on her own and be an adult, she only wanted to sever all ties with her mother.

Olivia had originally intended to go back to her apartment and attempt to sleep, but instead of giving her own address to the cab driver she found herself headed to her favourite little bistro. She was starving after hours of not eating, and the little restaurant made the best food in New York as far as Olivia was concerned. The waitresses and even the chef had become friends of hers over the years, and she always got discounted meals, which made the place that much more appealing. Normally Olivia ate their when she wanted to be alone, because it was the only place in New York she could actually walk into and see familiar faces. The waitresses made polite conversation and cheered her up when she really needed it, and by the end of her meal she realized she had never really wanted to be alone, after all. Now she walked in and was greeted by the last person she expected to see.

Gracen was a photographer from Ireland who had moved to New York in pursuit of his career. He had lived in the U.S. for decades, and had even confessed to Olivia that he had perfected his American accent years ago, but he spoke as if he had never left Ireland because he refused to let anyone think he was an American. Not that he didn't love the country, he just didn't want people to think he was anything he wasn't. The fact that it drove Olivia wild was just an added bonus.

They had dated only twice so far because Olivia had cancelled four times. This last time he had sounded really upset on the phone, and Olivia was sure she would never hear from him again. When she saw him smiling and waving her over to sit with him, she decided maybe he wasn't so upset anymore. Gracen had dirty blond hair that he let grow into a thick shag. Normally Olivia didn't like long hair on men, but it suited Gracen perfectly, and she thought she might shoot him if he ever cut it off. His eyes were a deep green that could see every detail around him, and the potential beauty in those details; he could even take pictures of Olivia she liked, which she considered an exceptional talent, since she had always hated pictures. He had a cocky confidence that drew people naturally towards him, but he wasn't arrogant; when he was wrong, he accepted it and didn't argue. In fact, she couldn't remember ever seeing him get angry. This, more than anything, is what drew Olivia to him after years of dealing with Elliot's quick and violent temper.

"Olli, over here. Take a seat." Olivia had never been called anything other than 'Olivia' or 'Liv' before, so when Gracen had started calling her Olli it had taken time to adjust. Now she loved the nickname, and the fact that Gracen was the only one who used it made it extra special. She really wanted their relationship to work, but so far they had had little success.

"I didn't know you ate here," she said, sitting down.

"I come here from time to time to get away from it all. It's a lovely little place. D'you come here often?" He was sipping a glass of ice water and Olivia suspected he was waiting for his order.

"Hey, it's New York's finest! You lookin' for ma's special or you want something different today?" One of the waitresses, Sylvia, asked when she saw Olivia. She was the daughter of Sophia, the bistro's owner.

"Guess that's a yes," Gracen said under his breath, smiling. Olivia ordered a plate of spaghetti with Sophia's mouth-watering tomato sauce, a.k.a. 'ma's special' and a glass of water.

"Wasn't planning on a spontaneous date, but I'll take what I can get." He reached across the table and took Olivia's hand in his; she didn't protest.

"You're in luck. I'm off work until tomorrow afternoon."

"Well, well, what are we gonna do with all this free time?" He winked and smiled.

"Let's start with dinner and see what happens." Gracen often pretended like he wanted nothing more than to get Olivia into bed (and maybe he did), but on both of their dates he had been invited up to her apartment, and both times he had left after having wine and a long conversation with Olivia. Oddly, though, she hadn't felt rejected, and she was sure he hadn't meant it that way. She actually appreciated the contrast to most men she dated; usually she had sex with them by the second date because she doubted the relationship would last much longer than that.

They ate their meal and then stayed in their booth until darkness fell. Gracen continued to hold her hand the whole time, playing with her fingers absentmindedly while they talked. Finally Sophia came out to break their trance and they realized there was no one left in the restaurant. "You know I love you, Olivia, and we appreciate everything you do for this city, but we gotta go home sometime."

Sophia smiled and Olivia returned it. "Sorry, Sophia, I didn't realize it was so late. Have a good night."

"You too." She winked and hugged Olivia goodnight before she and Gracen left.

"Where do you wanna go now?" Gracen asked. He was still holding Olivia's hand, swinging it gently back and forth as they walked.

"I thought you didn't have any food or alcohol at your apartment?"

"Well that settles it then, we're goin' to your flat."

"I don't have any, either."

"Alright, we're goin' to the store, then your flat."

"Decades in America and you still call it a flat?"

"Haven't we been over this? I still tell people they have cheese on their face." Olivia looked at him, confused. He laughed. "Cheese on your face means your fly's open."

"Ah." Olivia was still adjusting to the strange words and phrases Gracen sometimes used. The amount of Dublin slang he used depended on who he was talking to and what he was talking about. With Olivia, it crept into his vocabulary more and more often. It didn't bother her, though; nothing was sexier than an accent on a guy, in Olivia's opinion. Not that Gracen really needed that little bonus, but Olivia wasn't about to question her good fortune. 'It won't last long anyway,' she though sadly.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Johnny-jump-up," Gracen said, handing Olivia her drink. She looked at it, confused. Gracen laughed. "It's Guinness and cider. Try it, it's good."

"Didn't we buy wine?" She asked, taking a careful sip and deciding it was good.

"Thought we'd be different tonight."

"Hoping I'll get drunk?"

"Are you kidding? You hold your alcohol better than I do!" He smiled and Olivia took another sip to hide the fact that she wasn't at all pleased by this comment. He didn't know about her mother, though, so she didn't blame him for saying it.

Eventually they drifted over to the couch, drinks in hand. The alcohol was all but forgotten as their conversation continued, Olivia leaning against Gracen's chest, listening to his heartbeat underneath the deep rumbling of his voice. Just when she thought drifting off to sleep in his arms might not be so bad, there was a noise in the hallway. A series of quiet thuds, followed by what sounded like a faint sob and a sniffle.

"Did you hear that?" Olivia asked, sitting up.

"Hear what?" Gracen asked, letting his hand slide down her back when she sat up. She got up and headed for the door, sliding the chain off and twisting the lock before opening it.

Sitting in the hallway, his arms resting on his knees and his face buried against them, was Etienne. A few feet past Olivia's door was his ball, which had obviously bounced down the hall. He was crying quietly. "Etienne! What are you doing out here?" She rushed to him, dropping to her knees and stroking his hair gently.

He looked up at her and wiped his face on the back of his sleeve. "I'm hungry," he whimpered.

"Come on, sweetheart." Olivia lifted him into her arms and walked back into the apartment. Gracen seemed a little stunned by the boy.

"Who's that?" Etienne asked as Olivia took him into the kitchen. She was relieved they had done some grocery shopping earlier, so she at least had fresh fruit and some cereal bars.

"That's Gracen." As if summoned, Gracen appeared in the kitchen doorway. His eyes were silently asking Olivia for an explanation, but she didn't offer one. Instead she handed Etienne a cereal bar while she cut up an apple for him, both of which he practically inhaled. When she peeled an orange for him, he ate that slowly, picking the seeds out of each piece before putting them in his mouth.

"Should I go?" Gracen asked. Olivia tried to read his expression, wondering if he was angry, but he was closed to her.

"If you want," she said. She didn't want him to leave, but Etienne needed her more than Gracen did. To Etienne, she said, "Where's your mom? She's not supposed to be working tonight."

Etienne, of course, didn't ask how Olivia knew this. "I don't know. That's why I'm always supposed to have my key, but I forgot it this morning."

"How long have you been in the hallway?" She asked, horrified.

"Since I got home from school." Olivia wondered where he had been when she got home, and assumed he had been wondering around somewhere else in the building at the time. "I gave my snacks to another boy so he would let me play with him, but he was mean. I thought mommy would make me a snack after school." He started to cry again and Olivia wrapped her arms around him tightly, tears filling her own eyes.

When she looked up she noticed Gracen was cutting up the strawberries Olivia had bought and putting them in a bowl, sprinkling sugar on them as he went. When he had finished, he grabbed three forks and handed one to Olivia, then crouched down and offered the other to Etienne with a smile. They all started eating the strawberries, both Olivia and Gracen eating very slowly to give Etienne as much food as he wanted. He sat on the stool next to the island that Olivia frequently used as a table, swinging his legs, Gracen and Olivia sitting on the floor at his feet. "You don't have to do this," Olivia said. Etienne looked at them curiously, not understanding their words, but he didn't seem concerned by their secrecy.

"I know. But he needs it and who knows when I'll get to see you again."

After their late-night snack, Olivia set Etienne down on the couch, covered him with a light blanket and kissed his forehead. He was asleep before she even set him down. "You wanna tell me what's going on now?"

"His mother's a bitch," Olivia said, surprised at the bitterness in her voice.

"Does this happen often?"

"I just met him the other night. I was hoping it would just be a one-time thing, but apparently things are worse than I thought." She stood there watching Etienne sleep, her arms crossed over her chest, an expression of concern on her face.

Gracen wrapped his arms around Olivia from behind and kissed her neck softly, feeling her relax under his touch. "Gracen, there's a little boy sleeping right there."

"Your point?" He asked, lacing his fingers in hers as their lips met. She pulled away slightly to look in his eyes.

"We can't have sex with a little kid in the next room."

"Parents go at it all the time with their little ones in the next room." He smiled and kissed her again.

"I'm not his mother," she said, her resolve starting to waver.

"Good, cause his real mom's probably snoggin' some stranger in a bar somewhere."

"Isn't 'snogging' British?"

"My old man's British. Have you ever been tested for ADD? Seriously, you have focusing issues." He smiled and took a step towards her bedroom, pulling her with him gently.

"Can you keep quiet?" This time she led him another step towards the bedroom.

"I can, but I bet you can't."

"You're on."

They were almost to the bed when Olivia sighed deeply and pushed Gracen away. "I can't do this knowing he's in the other room."

Gracen sat down on the bed with a sigh and a disappointed smile. "I understand. Let's just go to bed."

"I invited you to spend the night?" Olivia asked, her eyebrow raised and her arms crossed.

"Yes, as a matter of fact you did." Gracen slipped out of his jeans so he was wearing just his boxers and a t-shirt. He had already shed his jacket.

Olivia went to the bathroom to get ready for bed, then joined Gracen in her bedroom. He was already stretched out on the bed, his arms behind his head and his eyes closed. "I've never done this before," Olivia confessed, sliding under the covers next to him.

"First time for everything," he said without even opening his eyes. Olivia rested her head on his chest and he put his arm around her. "Goodnight, Olli."

"Good night." She fell asleep easily, something she hadn't been able to do in a long time.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Can I help you with something?"

The girl standing in the doorway could have easily passed for an adult if not for her clothes and hair. She was wearing light blue jeans that were ripped and torn at the bottom, as a result of being too long. They were covered in writing, probably put there by her friends, and one of the knees was ripped. She wore a pink t-shirt over top of a black shirt with slightly longer sleeves. On her arms were grey and pink gloves the reached halfway up her forearms and had no fingers. Her hair was short and spiky, with straight bangs slanting across her forehead, and it was dyed a bright pink, though her dark brown roots were showing. The smooth skin of her tanned face was interrupted only but her bright green glasses that might even look professional when paired with the right clothes. Olivia suspected she was a fashion icon in her high school.

"Are you Evangeline Cadot?"

"Yes. Who are you?" Children in France learned their English from British teachers, resulting in a unique mix of the two accents. Evangeline had only the barest hint of French in hers, suggesting she had been very devoted to learning English. Her British accent, however, gave her away instantly as an immigrant.

"Olivia Benson. Can we talk?" She didn't want to reveal herself as a detective yet. She hoped to be invited in, but Evangeline only crossed her arms and continued looking at Olivia. Finally Olivia nodded and said, "I want to talk about your brother."

Her expression changed instantly from hostile to worried. "Etienne? Is he okay? What happened to him?"

"He's alright. But you mother…"

"She is NOT my mother!" She interrupted angrily.

Olivia nodded slowly. "Alright…Alicia has been leaving him home alone. I'm worried that their might be more going on than just late work hours."

"Stay out of it." Before Olivia could protest, Evangeline had slammed the door in her face. As a police officer she'd been treated that way before, but it still bothered her. Unwilling to just let it go, she started pounding on the door until Evangeline finally flung open the door. "What do you want?!"

"Why did you get emancipated?"

"How did you know that?"

"Tell me why. What happened?"

"Stay out of it! Leave Etienne alone!"

"If I leave him alone he's going to wind up dead in front of my door of starvation!" Olivia screamed back. Evangeline just shook her head angrily and slammed the door again. Olivia growled in frustration and left the building.

When she got back to her apartment, Gracen was playing a game of catch with Etienne while they sang various Disney songs in a mixture of English and French. "His mom still hasn't come?"

"No. I've been keeping an ear out for anyone coming down the hall but she hasn't come home yet." He tossed the ball to Olivia, who tossed it to Etienne. He seemed delighted by the new game.

"You really don't have to do this."

"Do what?"

"Play dad. He's not my son, you don't have to impress him to earn my affection."

"Don't flatter yourself, I'm not doing it to impress you. The little guy needs a place to stay and someone to stay with him, and I have nowhere else to go. Relax, Olivia, this has nothing to do with some sense of responsibility - I just love Disney songs." He began singing Hakuna Matata in English and Etienne joined him in French. Olivia joined in, but she dropped the ball when she heard a door slam in the hallway.

Glancing quickly at Gracen, she left the apartment, closing the door carefully behind her. The door to Alicia's apartment was open and she was raging in rapid French. Olivia couldn't catch every word, but she was saying something to the effects of 'I don't have time for these games, come on, I have to go to work!'. Nothing sinister, she was just looking for Etienne, but Olivia didn't like the thought of her yelling at him like that.

"Alicia?" Olivia called.

A few seconds later, Alicia appeared in her doorway. "What the hell do you want?"

"Etienne is in my apartment." Alicia charged towards Olivia's apartment, but Olivia blocked her way. "He was stuck in the hallway. If I hadn't found him he'd be passed out from hunger by now. What the hell were you thinking?"

To Olivia's astonishment, Alicia looked genuinely shocked and horrified. "What? What happened to the babysitter?"

"Babysitter?" This wasn't what Olivia expected. Alicia pushed past her into the apartment and scooped up Etienne. After a minute of more rapid French, she fished into Etienne's back pocket and handed Olivia the key that was inside.

"Go on, test it. It's his key to the apartment. You might want to get all the facts before you start accusing me of starving my child."

"Etienne, you told me you didn't have a key!" Olivia shook her head, looking down at the key and then back at Etienne, whose bottom lip was trembling dangerously, his eyes filling with tears.

"How many time do I have to tell you to stop lying?" She turned to Olivia. "I'm sorry he did this. But please, just leave us alone." She carried Etienne out of the apartment, taking her key back, and Olivia closed the door behind her.

Turning back to Gracen, he leaned forward and pressed his hands together as if praying and pressed his lips against his fingers in thought. After a moment of silence, he said, "What exactly did Etienne tell you?"

"That he gave his last snack to a friend, so he was hoping his mom would make him something after school, but she wasn't home and he forgot his key."

"So he definitely said 'I forgot my key'?"

"Do you think I just assumed that so I could bring him in here?" She asked angrily.

Gracen held up his hands in defence. "No, I just want to know if he was flat out lying or if you just lead you to that assumption without technically lying. But if he was lying, why'd he do it?"

"Something's going on over there. His sister left when she was ten and got emancipated just so she didn't have any ties to her mother."

"You sure she didn't just want to be more independent?"

"She's lived with her grandparents since she first ran away, and she still lives with them. She didn't want independence, she wanted to be away from her mother. I don't know why Etienne lied, but I bet he has a damn good reason." Olivia went into her room to grab her badge and gun.

"You're going to work?"

"I'm gonna find out what's going on. I'm sorry, Gracen…" Olivia tried to find a way to explain her feelings to him. The job was everything to her, and even though it wasn't actually a case, Etienne was a child who needed protection just like all the rest, and she couldn't stop until she got him the protection he needed. Words failed her, however.

Gracen stood up and grabbed his coat, handing Olivia hers. "I knew what I was getting into." He kissed her cheek. "Come on, I'll give you a ride."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Didn't anyone ever teach you to take your days off and run?" Munch asked when Olivia entered the squadroom. Ignoring him, she headed straight for her desk. She turned on her computer, wringing her hands impatiently as it booted up.

Elliot entered the squadroom just as she started her search. "Aren't you supposed to be off today?"

"You are, too," she said, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Gonna tell me what's up?"

"Wasn't planning on it."

But he circled around their desk to stand behind her, looking at the screen over her shoulder. "Who's Alicia Cadot?"

Olivia sighed and pulled him down by his tie so he was leaning on her desk, his ear close to her mouth. "It's not actually a case. Kid in my building…well, there's some weird stuff going on there and I'm trying to find some background information on the family, but I can't find anything useful in our databases because they're immigrants. I know I should report it, but I've got nothing more than my gut and a child's word that can easily be discredited by my own testimony."

"You get any sleep last night?"

"Not really. What's you point?"

"You're not gonna find anything like this. Let's go for coffee and you can fill me in."

"'Like this'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're obsessing, getting too close to the case, losing sleep over it. Take a break, fill me in, and we can work it out together." Olivia thought about it for a minute, considered rejecting his offer, than sighed and turned off her computer, following Elliot out of the squadroom.

At the little bistro where Olivia had met Gracen the night before, she filled Elliot in on everything that had happened since first meeting Etienne. "Wait, he lied about having a key? Why?"

"My guess? He's lonely, he wants to go somewhere where he can be treated properly, and forgetting his key was the way to do that."

"You're his substitute mother," Elliot said, shovelling a large forkful of spaghetti into his mouth.

Olivia nodded. "Just because he lied about his key doesn't mean he was lying about anything else. His mother's never home, goes out all the time, maybe she didn't go shopping. Maybe he really was starving. He wasn't in the hallway when I got home, so maybe he was in the apartment. When he heard me come up, he thought I might give him something to eat like I did before. When I didn't come out, he drops his ball and starts crying, either out of frustration or to get my attention."

"His mom said he hired a babysitter. You think she was lying?"

"I don't know, but even if she wasn't, she's still full of crap. Maybe she hired a babysitter, but it was just because I threatened to report her, not because she really cares about him." Elliot gazed at her silently for so long that she finally looked up from her pasta, which she had been pushing around with her fork and stabbing absent-mindedly.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head and taking another mouthful of spaghetti.

"What? What was that look for?"

"You're not gonna like it," he said through a mouthful of food. He chewed quickly, swallowed and winced when the not-fully-chewed mass went down his throat. "Do you really think you should handle this…case, I guess. Don't you think it might be better to hand it off?"

"No, why?" She said, an edge in her voice.

"Don't you think your own…biases…might get in the way here? Cloud your judgement?"

"I don't question your biases when we're dealing with cases. And what biases are you even talking about?"

"Olivia…Don't make me explain it to you."

"What, you think I want a child badly enough to break up a perfectly functioning family?" Olivia rose to her feet, furious.

"No, no, sit down. That's not what I'm saying."

"Then what are you saying, Elliot? Explain it to me, because I obviously don't get it."

Elliot opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. He really hadn't meant it the way Olivia said it, but suddenly that's all he could think about. He meant that a child reaching out to her, looking to her as a mother had gone to her head, blinded her to the truth of his real mother, but suddenly it sounded like the same thing. He sighed and shook his head. Olivia, her eyes not full of tears threatening to break loose, grabbed her coat and quickly left the restaurant. Elliot finished the last few mouthful of his spaghetti, along with the salad Olivia had left, and finally paid the bill and headed back to the precinct.

Olivia was seated at her desk when he arrived. She took no notice of him, which really wasn't a surprise. Rather than trying to force a conversation, Elliot just sat down and started doing his own work. After almost an hour of silence he finally said, "Let me help you with the case."

"It's not a case," she said, but he thought she would probably accept his help.

"I know. Let me help you anyway."

"This could get us in a lot of trouble."

"When has that ever stopped us before?" He smiled, but Olivia continued to frown.

"I mean it, Elliot, you shouldn't get involved."

"What are you planning to do that's so risky?"

"I'm going to break into Alicia's aprtment."

"WHAT?!"

Olivia shushed him, looking around nervously. "Relax, I just want to take a quick look around. She's never home anyway, and Gracen doesn't mind looking after Etienne for a few minutes. It won't be long before he comes back to my apartment."

"But…Break in?" Elliot kept his voice so low Olivia could barely hear him, which she was thankful for. "Fine. I'll help you."

"What? Elliot, no, you won't."

"Do you even know how to pick a lock?" Olivia was silent. "I'll get in and look around. You just tell me when."

"You have more to lose than I do."

"What makes you think that?"

"You have a family to support, you can't lose your job."

"All you have is this job, and it's gonna stay that way if you get any more obsessed with this kid. The way a see it, you're the one who's got more to lose." He'd made up his mind, and there was no use arguing about it anymore.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A few days later Olivia was lying on the couch, almost asleep, when there was a soft knock on her door. She sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes, and then headed for the door. When she opened it she saw Etienne standing there, his backpack clutched in one hand and the ball he always played with in the other. His face was wet with tears and his eyes were red and puffy. Olivia took his back pack and slung it over one shoulder, then picked up the little boy and closed the door with her foot.

She set Etienne on the couch and put his backpack on the floor, then she kneeled down infront of him. He sniffled and wiped his eyes on the back of his shirt, which did nothing more than make his sleeve wet. "Etienne, why did you lie to me?"

"There was no food and I was hungry."

"That's no reason to say you forgot your key, all you had to do was ask for some food."

"I thought you would give me some food and make me go home," he sobbed.

"And you didn't want to be alone in the apartment?" Etienne nodded. "You can come here whenever you want, you don't have to lie to me. What made you come here tonight?"

Etienne spoke so softly Olivia almost didn't hear him. "I had a bad dream."

"You mom's not home?" He shook his head and started to sob harder. Olivia sat down on the couch and pulled him into her lap, wrapping her arms around him and stroking his hair until he finally stopped crying. "Do you want to tell me what your dream was about?" He shook his head. "Okay, you don't have to. How about we watch a movie?" It was Friday night, so it wasn't a big deal to let him stay up.

"Can we watch Lion King?" He asked timidly.

"I don't have that movie, do you?" He nodded rapidly. "Okay, how about we go get?"

Etienne climbed off the couch and pulled the special edition DVD out of his backpack. Olivia smiled and showed him how to put it in the DVD player and how to use the remote. "I'll be right back, sweetheart; I have to make a quick phone call, okay?" He nodded, barely even paying attention.

Once she was out of Etienne's earshot, she dialled Elliot's number. It was only 11, which was hardly late for Olivia or Elliot. He picked up after the first couple rings. "Hey, what's up?"

"Etienne's here, Alicia's at work. Can you get over here?"

"Yeah, I'll be there soon." He hung up and Olivia went back to the living room.

When she heard footsteps in the hall she got up and checked the peephole. A distorted Elliot was approaching her door and she opened it after telling Etienne she'd be right back. "Hey, thanks for getting here so fast. Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Positive. It's that apartment over there, right?" Olivia nodded and watched him head for the door. "You don't have security cameras here, do you?"

"No, I checked. Let me know what you find."

"You're sure Alicia won't be home anytime soon?"

"I asked Etienne, she only left a couple hours ago for work, she won't be back." Elliot nodded and set to work on the door while Olivia kept watch down the hall. Once he was inside and had closed the door, she went back to Etienne.

Elliot's heart was pounding and he was pretty sure he'd regret this later. He had to go through with it, though, and he knew how to look around without disturbing anything. He started by looking in the fridge, which wasn't full but there was enough food in there for another day or two, nothing suspicious. Next he went into Etienne's bedroom. The first thing he noticed was how clean it was. Not a single toy on the floor, nothing out of its place, even the bed was neatly made.

The bed was in the far corner so the headboard and left side were pushed against the walls. There was a bookshelf across from it, filled with books that looked too advanced for a 6-year-old, though Elliot couldn't be sure because he couldn't understand French. There was a desk in the corner to Elliot's left, with just enough room between the foot of the bed and the desk to fit a rolling chair. It was just as spotless as everything else in the room, and Elliot couldn't help wondering what a 6-year-old needed a desk for.

Sifting through the papers, Elliot quickly realized most of them were in French and he couldn't understand them. There was another pile, though, with pages and pages of English activities that reminded Elliot of the Spanish classes he hated so much in school. There were also some math exercises that looked far too advanced for Etienne, but from what he could tell – math was never his strongest subject – all the answers that had been filled in were correct. Elliot spread out some of the papers he couldn't read and took pictures of them with the digital camera he had brought with him. When he thought he had enough pictures, he carefully arranged the papers again, having taken careful mental inventory before touching them.

He searched through the rest of the apartment, but saw nothing else to worry about. There were a few pictures here and there of Alicia and Etienne, smiling and waving at the camera. He searched for a photo album but found nothing. There were several unopened boxes around the apartment, though, and he decided their pictures were probably still packed. After taking a few more pictures, he left the apartment and knocked on Olivia's door. She kept watch again while he locked the door.

"Did you find anything?"

"No pictures of Alicia beating him, if that's what you were hoping for. Is he sleeping?" Olivia nodded. "His room's really weird. Take a look."

Olivia took the camera and started searching through the pictures. She zoomed in on the papers Elliot had found. "History, American and European, science, reading and writing…This looks like stuff I studied in high school! And look at this math, there is no way that's first grade math."

"That still doesn't prove anything, Liv. So she pushes him, so what?"

"When does she find the time to teach him this? He goes to school and she works all hours, and there's no way he's learning this in school." She glanced at the apartment door, as if she could see through it to the sleeping boy inside.

"You'll have to talk to him to figure that out, Liv. Did you find out about that babysitter you told me about?"

"I asked him, he says she never mentioned hiring a babysitter. And he's home alone again tonight. It was just a story Alicia made up to take suspicion off herself."

"It's still not enough to prove anything. Either you have to get him to admit to something, or we have to make this an official investigation and talk to Alicia again."

"What do you think?"

Elliot sighed and glanced at the apartment door. "I don't know, Liv. He's got nice clothes, he's skinny but he's not malnourished, and he's got a roof over his head. I haven't talked to him, but if he seemed like he was scared or reserved you would have told me, and you haven't. If he is being abused, it's gonna be pretty much impossible to prove."

"I don't care how hard it's going to be to prove, I just want to know what you think."

Elliot shrugged. "I dunno, Liv. Experience tells me to trust your instincts about this, but it also tells me I've seen abuse before, and this really doesn't look like it. I don't know which experience to trust, but I'll have your back no matter what you decide to do."

Olivia had hoped he would just believe her, but she would have to settle for his blind support. "Thanks, El. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Elliot squeezed Olivia's shoulder comfortingly before turning to leave. She watched him go and then went back into her apartment, where Etienne was still watching The Lion King, humming along to the songs. He had insisted on watching in English, she he was having trouble with the words. Olivia sat down next to him and started singing along with the movie, which made Etienne smile as he hummed. When the song was over, Olivia paused the movie and Etienne looked up at her curiously.

"Etienne...I know you probably don't want to talk about this, but I need you to answer my questions as best as you can, okay?" Etienne nodded, looking nervous now. "Are you and your mom close?"

"She's not home very much," he said with a shrug.

"Does she...tuck you in, give you hugs and kisses...stuff like that?"

Etienne shrugged again. "I guess so, yeah."

"Does she feed you? Make you meals?"

"She works a lot; she doesn't have time to cook. Sometimes she makes me things when she has time."

"What do you eat when she doesn't have time to cook?" Now Etienne grabbed the remote control and turned the movie back on. He wasn't interested in talking to Olivia anymore, but she wasn't going to let it go until she absolutely had to. She took the remote gently from him and turned the movie off. She kneeled down in front of him and put her hands gently on his knees. He looked down at his hands rather than at her. "Etienne, I want to help you. You won't get in trouble for talking to me, I promise. What do you eat when your mom doesn't cook?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"He's not starving, what's the problem?" Gracen asked, taking a few more fries from the plate he and Olivia were sharing.

"You don't get it. She gives him a lunch for school and nothing more. Nothing for after school or for dinner unless she's home, which isn't very often. She gives him a lunch so no one can accuse her of abuse, but she's still not feeding him properly."

"He's still getting more than a lot of kids out there."

"And that makes it okay?! She forces him to study non-stop, even after school. She doesn't want him to leave school and be home-schooled because that would require home visits to make sure she's teaching him the proper curriculum, and she can't take that risk. Instead she lets him keep going to school where's he's probably doing poorly because he's bored, or maybe he's doing really well because he knows so much more than the other kids, I don't know. Either way, it's not fair to him. And why would she go to such lengths to keep people away from her and Etienne unless there was something going on worth covering up?"

"Like what? Torturing him with extra homework? Not hugging him enough? Making him clean his room? Depriving him of a meal here and there? Even if you could prove all that, no one's going to care because that's nothing compared to what some children are dealing with. Unless you can get him to actually tell you he's being abused, and badly, there's nothing you can do." He plucked the fry Olivia was holding out of her hand because she seemed more interested it waving it around than actually eating it. He popped it in his mouth and chewed it slowly, waiting for Olivia to continue.

Olivia sighed heavily. "He won't tell me anything else. He shuts down whenever I try to talk about his mom and I've already pushed him as far as a can. I need to talk to his sister again."

"I thought she didn't want to talk to you either?"

"She doesn't. But I have to do something."

"Why?"

"Because it's my job!"

"No, it's not. You haven't even reported the abuse, no one in your squad knows what you're doing other than Elliot, and that's off the record. If it was a case you wouldn't be talking to me. This isn't about your job, Olivia, it's about a little boy whose tears sent your maternal instincts into overdrive and you can't let it go." Olivia stared at him, looking injured. "You going to tell me it's not true?"

Olivia looked down at the table, tears filling her eyes. "I want to help him, Gracen." Her voice was no more than a whisper because she was afraid if she tried to speak it would break and her tears would overwhelm her.

Gracen reached across the table and took her hand in his. "I know, Olli. But there's nothing more you can do about it tonight. Come on, I'll take you home." They stood up and Gracen held her in his arms for a minute before taking her by the hand and leading her outside. They both had a running tab at the bistro, so they would take care of payment later. "Are you spending the night?" Olivia asked as they approached her apartment.

"Are you inviting me?" He smiled. She shrugged, not replying, and he followed her upstairs.

SVUSVSVUSVSVUSVUSVSVUSVUSVU

"Great, you again. What the hell do you want?" Evangeline stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, looking angrily at Olivia. He hair was now a darker shade of pink except for her bangs, which hadn't been re-dyed and was fading to a streaky orange.

"I know you don't want to talk to me, but you're the only one who can help Etienne. You must still care about him."

"Look, I don't who you are or what you hope to get from me, but you need to mind your own business." She tried to close the door, but Olivia stuck her foot in the way and put her palm firmly on the door.

"Don't do this. I know something's wrong but I can't prove it unless he talks to me, and he won't. You're the only person who can help me and help him. Please, don't turn your back on him."

"I already told you: leave it alone." She pushed hard and this time Olivia let her close the door. With no more options left and her emotions threatening to overwhelm her agian, Olivia left the apartment building and headed to the precinct.

"You're just in time, we're going to pick up a suspect in that rape case we thought went cold. I was gonna take Munch but I'd much rather chase down perps with you."

"I'm flattered." She smiled and followed Elliot back downstairs and into his car. They drove in comfortable silence to the apartment where Ben Toovey lived. They walked down the hall with their hands on their guns, keeping their ears and eyes open for signs of a threat. Elliot waited for them to take their positions on either side of the door before knocking.

"Police, open up!" He called, rapping his knucles hard on the door. They heard footsteps inside the apartment and just as Elliot was about to knock again, they heard the sound of breaking glass. Olivia stepped back, drawing her gun, and kicked the door open, one of her guilty pleasures. They saw that Ben had gone out the fire escaped and knocked over a glass vase in his haste. Elliot followed him out the window while Olivia headed down the apartment stairs and out to head the off, their usual strategy.

Elliot followed Ben down the fire escape and radioed Olivia to tell her where they were headed. She told him she would head around to cut Ben off and ran as fast as her powerful legs would carry her. As she was heading around a corner through a busy area she nearly collided with someone. She spun to avoid them and ended up on the ground. "I'm so sorry! Are you..."

Olivia looked up and found herself looking at Alicia Cadot. She looked down at Olivia, disgusted. A woman standing next to her who had seen the collision offered her hand and pulled Olivia to her feet. "You should watch where you're going," Alicia said.

"Don't talk like that to an officer!" The second woman said. Olivia recognized her as the mother of an abused child she had worked with a few months earlier and cursed her horrible luck. She didn't want Alicia to know she was an officer, and now she was afraid of what might happen. But when Elliot radioed her asking where the hell she had disappeared to, she forgot about Alicia and raced off again with a quick apology.

"What the hell happened?" Elliot asked breathlessly when Olivia caught up to him. He was leaning over a handcuffed Ben, panting from running.

Olivia, also breathing hard from running, shook her head. "Ben Toovey, you have..."

"The right to remain silent," Elliot continued while Olivia bent down, her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"I'm getting too old for this," she panted. Elliot smiled and led the way back to their car, reading Ben his rights as they went. Olivia followed slowly behind them, thoughts of Alicia running through her already frayed and worried mind. What would she do to Etienne now that she knew who Olivia really was? She couldn't live with herself if Etienne got hurt because of her.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When Olivia returned home late that night she wanted nothing more than to curl up on the couch with a chocolate bar and relax. Instead she nearly jumped out of her skin when she entered her kitchen and nearly crashed into Evangeline. "How the hell did you get in here?" She asked when she recovered from the scare.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you. Do you want something to eat? I made spaghetti."

"Are you really offering me my own food?" Olivia was too stunned to fully process what was happening. She wondered if she had finally lost it.

"It's mine; I brought it over because I wasn't sure how long I'd have to wait for you."

"Evangeline, how the hell did you get in here?" Olivia asked again.

"I picked the lock."

"You broke into a police officer's apartment?"

Evangeline held out her hands to Olivia. "Go on, arrest me." When Olivia didn't move, she nodded and went back into the kitchen, where a pot of spaghetti was still sitting on the stove. Evangeline grabbed the strainer and poured the spaghetti into it. "I had to wash dust out of your pot, you know. You don't cook much, do you?"

"I don't have time. Probably can't cook worth a damn anyway. Are you gonna tell me why you're here?"

Evangeline took out two plates and set them on the island in the centre of the kitchen. She poured the sauce into the pot, mixing it a little, and then filled both plates. She didn't speak until she was sitting across from Olivia, ready to eat. "Have you talked to Etienne about what's going on?"

"He told me a few things, but he shuts down when I try to talk about it too much." Evangeline just nodded, twirling her spaghetti absentmindedly. "Evangeline, he needs your help. You wouldn't be here unless you had something to tell me."

"Call me Eva. I...Does he seem okay when he comes over here? I mean, does he smile, make jokes, that sort of thing?"

"Yeah. He's a good kid." Olivia tilted her head, carefully studying Eva's expression. When she was silent, Olivia reached across the island and put her hand on Eva's arm. "Eva, please. Tell me what's going on."

"Alicia studied medicine. She knows how to hurt someone without leaving a mark. And she's pretty creative."

"What is she doing to him?" Olivia tried to keep her voice soft and comforting, but there was an edge to it.

"I honestly don't know. But when I was little...she made me stay in a cold bath for hours. She forced me to swallow spoonfuls of cleaning solution. She made me look in the mirror and point out all the things I hated about myself. And if she was really mad she..." Her voice broke and tears filled her eyes. She wiped them away furiously and took a deep breath. "She would lock me in the gas chamber."

"The gas chamber?" Olivia was horrified.

"It wasn't really a chamber, just the bathroom. But she would mix up these chemicals in a bucket and then lock me in the bathroom while they turned into gas. It would fill the room and I wouldn't be able to breathe. It...burned everything. I would put a dirty cloth over my face and lie next to the vent for the little air it gave me. I had to teach myself not to cry because it made my eyes burn even more. The whole time I just wished she punch me or break my arm...Anything so I could prove I was being abused, but no matter how hard I looked I could never find any mark that I could show to someone. So I ran away."

Olivia's stomach churned and she felt light-headed. Was Etienne going through such horrible things? "What were the chemicals? Do you remember?"

"No, I have no idea. They were probably really basic things, though; she wouldn't have access to any sophisticated chemicals. Does his voice ever sound rough, like he has a sore throat? Sometimes my throat was sore for a while after she made me swallow the cleaning solutions."

"No, he sounds fine. Why do you think he won't tell me what's was going on?"

"Maybe he doesn't know if he can trust you. Sure, you give him a safe place to stay and the attention he needs, but you're still a stranger. What qualifies you to change anything when no one else can?"

_Because I'm a cop,_ she wanted to say, but for some reason she didn't want to tell Eva. Instead she said, "Because I care about him. I know I can help him."

"Well, unless you can convince him of that, nothing's going to change."

"You could change things. You could testify against your mom, get Etienne removed from her care."

"So what? So he can go to a foster home where he'll be teased and beaten by other kids instead of his mother? Where people around him will care about him even less than Alicia does? Forget it!"

"I can find a place for him."

"No, you can't. You can't promise that no matter how much you want to."

"Please, Eva..."

"No. Forget it, I never should have come." Olivia tried to stop her from leaving, but it was no use. Eva left the apartment and Olivia went back to the kitchen to finish off the spaghetti. She fell asleep later wondering idly if she should get a better lock on her door. She woke up an hour later to someone pounding on her door.

Olivia got up, stretched, ran her fingers through her hair and then went to the door. When she looked through the peephole to see a furious Alicia, her heart jumped into her throat. She took a few deep breaths before opening the door. "Can I help you with something?"

"You're a police officer?" She was practically frothing at the mouth she was so furious.

"Detective, actually. I apologize for the PJs but I can't keep the city safe 24/7, that's why we work shifts." Dull sarcasm was rarely Olivia's style, but she was tired and annoyed.

Alicia's mouth was working, but she seemed incapable of speaking. Finally she closed her eyes and massaged her temples for a few seconds and was finally able to say, "Stay away from Etienne," before walking away.

"If Etienne is as safe as you claim, why are you so adamant about keeping me away from him?" Olivia called after her.

Alicia spun around so fast with a look of rage so intense that Olivia's first instinct was to draw her gun and run back into the apartment and lock the door. Instead she stood her ground calmly as Alicia walked back towards her, too furious to speak until she was barely an inch from Olivia's face. "Etienne is safe with me. He is struggling, I know, but I do the best I can and you have NO RIGHT insinuating that I am abusing my child. I'm warning you, one last time: stay the fuck away from my child."

Olivia let herself relax when she realized every muscle in her body was tensed. Once Alicia had disappeared into her apartment, Olivia went back into her own. Too exhausted – mentally and physically – to care about her encounter, she curled up on her couch and feel asleep easily.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The next day Olivia was awoken by more pounding on her door. Her alarm clock was set to go if only minutes anyway, but she was still annoyed with being woken up so rudely. She slipped on her hoodie over her pyjamas because the apartment was cold and then opened the door without looking through the peephole. "You're a cop?!"

"Good morning Eva," Olivia replied dryly, letting Eva follow her into the apartment.

"How could you not tell me you're a police officer? In SVU no less! Here I am telling you not to report this and you're interrogating me!"

"I wasn't interrogating you, I was talking to you. This isn't even an investigation."

"So you're lying about who you are to get information out of us? Do you know what'll happen if Alicia finds out?!"

Olivia sat straighter on the couch, leaning forwards slightly. "What do you think she'll do?"

"Did you miss what I just said? I'm not talking to you anymore." She tried to leave but Olivia stood and grabbed her arms.

Their faces barely two inches apart, Olivia waited for Eva to look her in the eye and then said, "Tell me what she'll do if she finds out."

"Oh, you bitch. She knows, doesn't she? She found out! Dammit!"

"I was chasing someone and I ran into her. Eva, you have to help to me. If she's gonna hurt Etienne or run, I need to know now so I can stop her."

"No. No way. You fucked this up enough for him. Stay out of this, I mean it." She finally managed to free herself from Olivia's grasp and left the apartment, slamming the door hard.

SVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVU

"Olivia, I can't keep granting you time off and rescheduling it. Next time you come in on your day off you're losing that time." Olivia didn't bother to explain herself to Cragen. Instead she dropped her things on her desk and sat down on Elliot's desk, where he was either finishing a report or searching the databases for information on his latest perp.

"I thought you were off today?" He asked her. "I seem to be saying that a lot these days."

"I was. But we've got a problem."

"We?"

"Alicia found out I'm a detective."

"You didn't tell her you were a detective?" It sounded like a question, but Olivia knew it wasn't. He knew her better than to really be surprised.

"Of course not. It was all off the record, and telling her I was a cop would only make her paranoid. But she found out the other day, and I talked to Eva, and she thinks Alicia might really hurt Etienne, or run off with him."

When Elliot finally looked up from his computer, he opened his mouth to say something but was distracted by something behind Olivia. Seeing his confusion, she turned around to see Eva, her eyes were filled with rage and the last remnants of her tears. "You bitch, you killed my brother!"

Now the whole squad was silent, every person in the room staring at Eva and Olivia. Everyone knew Olivia, of course, and they couldn't understand how someone could accuse any SVU detective of such a thing. "Eva, I..."

"Don't! Don't you fucking try to defend yourself! You killed Etienne!"

Olivia's own eyes were now filling with tears and she had to fight to keep her vision clear. "He's dead?"

"He might as well be! He's lying in the hospital in a coma, the doctors say he won't wake up. You said you cared about him, you bitch, you're a liar! IL VA MOURIR À CAUSE DO TOI!­­­­­­" At that point Eva began to sob and speak in such rapid, hysterical French that Olivia couldn't understand a single word. She steered Eva gently to a room where they could talk privately.

When Eva had calmed down enough to speak again, she just glared at Olivia. "Eva, tell me what happened."

"He fell down the stairs." She spoke clearly, enunciated every syllable clearly, filling each with her anger and disgust. Obviously she didn't buy Alicia's story.

"An injury like that, they'll investigate Alicia," Olivia assured her.

"But that's just it, they won't find anything! She's smart, Olivia, too smart to get caught on some stupid slip-up."

"Now more than ever you have to help me." Olivia couldn't help feeling like a broken record. "You have to testify against Alicia, tell the courts what happened. I can take him away from her if you tell your story."

"First of all, I can't prove any of it and neither can you. Secondly, Etienne isn't going to wake up, there's no point now. And even if he was, what I said earlier still stands: I'm not sending him to foster care."

"You think he's still better off with Alicia than in foster care? She threw him down the stairs!"

"She only did that because of you!" Again she started babbling in rapid french and Olivia shook her head.

"Eva, Eva listen to me. If I can promise you he'll be safe in foster care, will you testify against her?"

"You can't make that promise."

"Yes, I can. I'll find him a great home, I promise."

"But you can't control any of that!"

"Trust me, Eva. Please, we can't let Alicia win."

"She already has. She's the one who decides when to pull the plug." Eva stood up and left the room and Olivia made no move to stop her.

"How'd it go?" Elliot asked a few minutes later when he found Olivia still sitting with her head on the table.

"It didn't," she said, her voice muffled.

Elliot laughed and sat down on the table next to her. It really wasn't funny but he couldn't help laughing. "Wanna fill me in on what happened?"

"Alicia pushed Etienne down the stairs. He's in a coma and the doctors say he won't wake up." Elliot suddenly regretted laughing.

"Is there proof Alicia did it?"

Olivia shrugged, leaning back in her chair. "According to Eva there won't be. Even if there was, what good will it do now? He's as good as dead."

"Maybe you should talk to the doctors before you say that."

"It doesn't matter. I was stupid to get involved in this."

Before Elliot could say anything else, the door to the conference room swung open violently and Cragen appeared. "Olivia, in my office now." Olivia gave Elliot a confused look before following Cragen to his office. Inside she saw Alicia seated in front of his desk and she felt as if a brick had settled in her stomach. "Have a seat, Olivia."

Olivia thought about disobeying but she wasn't sure her legs would support her anymore. Alicia's eyes were red and puffy from crying, but they didn't mask her rage. "Olivia, I don't know if you're aware of the situation, but there are some very serious accusations against you."

"What are they, exactly?" Olivia could probably guess, but she wasn't interested in guessing; she wanted to hear it straight from Cragen.

"Alicia claims you're responsible for the near death of her son, Etienne."

"WHAT?!" Olivia stood up, outraged at being implicated like that.

"My son is in the hospital about to die because of you!" Alicia screamed, rising to meet Olivia's gaze. Their eyes locked with a rage so intense it was all Olivia could do not to lunge at her.

"Sit down, both of you! Alicia claims her son has been spending nights at your apartment. Is that true?"

"He spent a few nights."

"Did you have Alicia's consent? Did you tell her where her son was?"

"He came to me and told me he was alone and hungry. It's my job to protect children."

"Which is exactly why I'm taking your badge and gun." Cragen held up his hand before Olivia could protest. "IAB's going to hear about this and there will be a full investigation. And I expect you to stay far away from Alicia and her family from now on. I apologize, Miss Cadot, Detective Benson won't be bothering you anymore. I'll keep you updated on our investigation." Alicia nodded and stood. She shook Cragen's hand and then left the office, glancing one last time at Olivia with a mixture of rage and triumph.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

As soon as the door closed Olivia was on her feet again. "I had nothing to do with Etienne's death! She's the one who threw him down the stairs!"

"Have a seat, Detective."

"Captain..."

"Sit!" Olivia sat down slowly. "Alicia claims she told you to stay away from Etienne, is that true?"

"Yes, but..."

"And you ignored her?"

"He came to me!"

Cragen shook his head. "He came to you and said he was alone and hungry, that's what you're arguing?" Olivia nodded. "You suspected abuse, then?" Olivia nodded again, slower. "Why didn't you report it? You're an SVU detective, for God's sake Olivia! You could lose your badge over this!"

"I had no proof. If I told her I was a detective I thought she'd run or hurt him even more! He didn't have a mark on him, how was I supposed to prove she was abusing him?"

"That's why you report it: so we can investigate. You don't know what their home looks like, maybe there's evidence of the abuse there." Olivia of course kept her mouth shut about having searched Alicia's apartment.

"But I was right. She found out about me and now Etienne's in a coma."

"You have no proof she's responsible for that. Your gut may be enough for you, but that's not going to hold up to IAB." Cragen sighed and shook his head. "Hand in your badge and your gun. You can have them back when and if IAB clears you. I'm not backing you up on this one, Olivia."

Again Olivia considered arguing, but there was no point. She knew how it would look to IAB and she couldn't ask Cragen to put his ass on the line for her. She screwed up, and that was it. All she could hope for now was that Elliot didn't get in trouble. Without another word to Cragen, she got up and left his office. She went to her desk to clean some things out.

"Hey, what's going on?" Elliot asked.

"Cragen took my shield. I have to talk to IAB."

"What are you gonna tell them?"

"Don't worry, I won't rat you out."

"That's not what I mean, Liv. You were just trying to protect him."

"Illegally, and that's all IAB's gonna care about. Etienne would still be alive if I hadn't got involved."

"He's not dead, Olivia, he could still recover. And you have no idea what would have happened. She might have killed him some other way, or crippled him. You can't blame yourself for what happened." Before Elliot could say any more, Olivia broke down and began to sob. She had never lost it in front of Elliot and she felt ashamed to be crying in the middle of the squadroom in front of all the other detectives, but she couldn't help it.

Sensing her shame, Elliot led her quickly to the crib, away from everyone else. She wiped her eyes frantically but couldn't stop crying. "I'm sorry, El."

"Don't apologize. You care about Etienne, it's normal for you to be upset."

"I shouldn't care this much. I shouldn't have let myself get so attached. Now he's...he's dying...and it's my fault." She broke into sobs again, her heart physically aching, the sobs so strong she was bent over nearly double. Elliot steered her towards one of the cots and made her sit down. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and rocked back and forth, her pain too much to care about Elliot watching her.

"You're gonna make yourself sick," Elliot said, crouching down to look into her eyes. She nodded, trying to catch her breath and at least control her sobs. It was difficult, but eventually she calmed herself down. "Come on, let me take you home."

Olivia shook her head. "I'll call Gracen."

"Alright. Get some rest, Olivia, you need it."

Once she had calmed down and stopped crying, Olivia left the precinct. She didn't call Gracen, as she had promised, but instead walked home. She passed her apartment several times and ended up wandering aimlessly around the city. Finally, after standing in front of the hospital for several minutes wishing she could visit Etienne, she went back to her apartment.

How do you keep getting in here?" Olivia asked when she saw Eva sitting on her couch.

"You need a better lock."

"I'm not in the mood to have it out with you again. Please just leave." Olivia had never felt so emotionally drained in her entire life.

"I'm not here to get on your case, I mean it. Would you go with me to see him? Alicia won't be there."

"My captain already took my badge, and I might end up losing my job because of this. The last thing I should be doing is going to the hospital."

"Please? I want to talk to you."

"We can talk here," Olivia said, but her resolve was weakening. When Eva stood up to leave, Olivia followed, to Eva's surprise. She didn't comment, though, only lead the way for Olivia.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"You have no idea how much trouble I could get in for this."

"Stop complaining, you're here of your own volition, remember?" Eva pulled the door open and stepped inside the hospital. Olivia shoved her hands in her pockets and kept her head down. She knew that wouldn't help her situation, but it made her feel at least a little less exposed.

Eva led the way past the front desk and towards the elevators. Stepping inside, she pressed the button for the second floor. Olivia shifted her weight nervously. She had broken rules before, even broken the law once or twice, but somehow these felt so much worse than anything else she had done. She was already responsible for Etienne's accident; she didn't want to make things worse. "Stop fidgeting. There's no one here to get you in trouble, I promise." Olivia sighed and followed Eva out of the elevator and down the hall. Outside Etienne's room Eva paused for a second, then opened the door slowly. Olivia stepped inside and Eva shut the door.

Seeing Etienne hooked up to so many monitors and IVs, with a tube in his throat connected to a hissing respirator, Olivia felt her heart break. He was so small amidst all the equipment, his skin all but matching the white of the sheets and pillow cases. "He looks so tiny, doesn't he?" Eva said. Olivia nodded, not taking her eyes off Etienne, fighting to keep her vision clear as tears stung her eyes. "You care about him a lot."

"I let myself get too involved," Olivia said, tearing her gaze away and wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

Eva sat down on the end of the bed. "I don't want him to live with her anymore. He probably won't even wake up from this, but if a miracle does happen, I don't want him going home to her."

"I'm glad; I don't either." Olivia sat down next to the bed and took Etienne's hand in hers.

"But there's only one way you can assure me he'll be in a good home if he's taken away." Olivia looked up at her. "You have to adopt him."

Olivia shook her head. "No, Eva, I can't."

"Yes, you can. I see how you look at him, how much this hurts you, you love him like your own son already!"

"No, Eva, you don't understand. I couldn't even if I wanted to."

"I don't understand – why not?"

Olivia put her elbow on the bed and rested her forehead against the heel of her hand. "I was turned down by an adoption agency less than a year ago. I have no family, I work all hours, and I have no good friends outside of work. Even if I wanted to adopt Etienne, they'd turn me down."

Eva just stared, her mouth slightly open. When she finally spoke again, her voice was soft and barely above a whisper. "All you've done for Etienne, all you do for children every day...and they would rather let children rot in foster care than give them to people like you?" She turned away, shaking her head in disgust.

"They don't know me, Eva. Besides, they're right, I don't have time to look after a child."

"But you could change, you could go to a new department, you'd have more time off."

"I still have no reliable support."

"What about Gracen?"

"He...wait, how do you know about him?" Eva looked instantly startled and guilty. She turned away, but Olivia was on her feet with her hand firmly wrapped around Eva's arm before she could turn away fully. "How do you know about him, Eva?"

"He came to visit you once while I was in your apartment. He said you weren't answering your phone and he wanted to make sure you were okay. Well, he sort of yelled it through the door, actually, but you get the point. It's obvious he cares about you."

"That may be true, but that doesn't mean he wants an instant family, and I'm not about to force him into something. Eva, I know you want Etienne to be safe, I do too, but he can't live with me."

"Don't you want to adopt him?"

"It doesn't matter what I want. It's better if I use my efforts to find him a good home."

"How do you plan to do that?"

"The first step is bringing Alicia up on charges. If we can prove the abuse, then we can worry about finding him a guardian."

"None of that matters much if he never wakes up." Eva sat down on the bed at Etienne's feet, looking defeated. "Do you think he ever will?"

"I don't know. You'd have to talk to his doctors, and I doubt they even know. But whether or not he wakes up, I want Alicia to pay for what she did. To you and Etienne. Will you testify against her?"

Eva nodded. "I guess. But we have no way of proving anything she did. She'll never get convicted, will she?"

Olivia sighed. "No, I don't think she will."

"If we charge her and she's released, she'll only kill him."

"I know. But she'll kill him if she wakes up, because he'll know she pushed him. If he wakes up, I'll have her brought up on charges. If not...there's no point."

"And she gets to go on living her life? What sort of justice is that?"

"It isn't. I'm sorry, Eva."

"Don't be. At least he'll be free of her." Olivia rested her arms on the bed and watched Etienne's chest rise and fall in times with the hissing of the ventilator, silently willing him to open his eyes. When he didn't, she rested her head on her crossed arms. Eva stretched out at the foot of the bed, staring at the ceiling. All she could think about was how unfair it all was. It was the last thought of both women before they fall asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"That's her! I want her arrested!" Olivia opened her eyes to see a police officer approaching her with handcuffs. Another officer was already attempting to handcuff a resistant Eva.

"Don't struggle, Eva, it'll only make things worse," Olivia said, standing up to let the officer handcuff her easily. Eva glared at the officers, but she stopped struggling.

"You have the right to remain silent..." One of the officers began.

"I know my rights," Olivia interrupted irritably. The officer continued on anyway until Eva repeated Olivia's words and he fell silent.

Being lowered into the squad car next to Eva was humiliating. Olivia couldn't believe she had been so careless. Not only would she probably lose her job, but who knew what repercussions this might have for Eva and even Etienne. "I'm sorry, Eva."

"What are you apologizing for? I'm the one who insisted you come here. I'm not the one on the verge of losing my career."

"Wait, Eva, why did they arrest you?"

"Alicia has a restraining order keeping me away from her and Etienne."

"A restraining order?" Olivia was shocked.

"Yeah. Isn't that why you're being arrested?"

"No. She complained to my captain and he suspended me, but she never served me with a restraining order. Why does she want to keep you away so badly?"

"I'm the only one who's experienced her abuse first-hand, remember? Other than Etienne, that is, but she's already taken care of him." She shifted slightly in her seat, but there was no way to get more comfortable. Squad cars weren't exactly designed for comfort, of course, but at least it was a short ride.

"Do you think he's in danger at the hospital?"

"You mean will she hurt him? I have no idea. I don't think she'd risk it, though, she's all about the subtle. So how much trouble is this going to get you in?"

"They can't actually arrest me, there's no official restraining order. I could still lose my job for disobeying my captain, though."

"I'm sorry, Olivia. I shouldn't have insisted you come here." She looked down sadly. Olivia just sighed, unable to summon any comforting words and knowing they wouldn't help anyway.

SVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVU

Olivia rubbed her sore wrists; they were a welcome distraction. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I told you, Eva wanted to visit him so I took her. I know Alicia's work schedule from talking to Etienne so I knew she wouldn't be there. We fell asleep, though, and Alicia came in before we could wake up. It's not Eva's fault, Captain, I told her we wouldn't have any problems."

"Did you know about the restraining order?"  
"No, but she told me she'd get in trouble if she went. Captain, I..."

"No, Olivia – I don't want to hear it anymore. You put your job on the line! Give me one good reason I shouldn't fire you." Olivia was horrified, even though she had been trying to prepare for such a thing. She wanted desperately to say something – anything – to save her job, but she couldn't bring herself to speak. It was taking all the will power she had to hold back her tears.

Cragen sighed. "It's up to Alicia now. If I can talk her down and convince her you don't deserve to lose your pension over this, and if IAB clears you, you can have your badge back. Now get outta here." Olivia stood and left the room without another word.

"How'd it go?" Elliot asked.

Olivia shook her head, grabbing her coat off the back of her chair. "Guess you'll have to break in a new partner."

"What?" Elliot looked horrified. Munch and Fin were now listening attentively. "You can't really be losing your job over this!"

"Captain said it's up to Alicia. She's never gonna let it go. She's trying to kill her son, she won't think twice about taking my pension." She shook her head, still trying to fight back her tears. What was she going to do if she lost her job? She couldn't bear to think about it. Before she could burst into tears in front of everyone, Olivia left the precinct. For the last time, she thought miserably.

As she climbed the last few stairs to her floor of the apartment building, she saw Gracen standing in the hall, knocking on her door impatiently. When she called his name, her rushed towards her and wrapped his arms around her. "I heard what happened, I was afraid they'd arrested you or something. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. They can't arrest me but Cragen...wait, how did you hear about it?"

"Eva called me."

"You talk to Eva?"

"No. She just called me, told me who she was, and then told me about what happened. She said you probably wouldn't call me so she'd do it for you. I was sitting in my apartment for ages just trying to decide whether I should come, but I couldn't just do nothing."

"How does she even know who you are?" She knew the answer even before the question had finished leaving her mouth: Eva had been in her apartment alone, she probably found his phone number, maybe even the picture of them Etienne had insisted on taking with his Polaroid (Gracen was convinced Etienne was a brilliant photographer in the making). Maybe she had found the t-shirt and boxers he had forgotten in Olivia's bedroom. It wouldn't be difficult to figure out their relationship.

"Are you sure you're alright? What did your captain say?"

"He says it's up to Alicia and IAB. She'll want my ass nailed to the wall for interfering." Now she couldn't hold her tears back anymore. Gracen led her into her apartment and they curled up together on the couch. Olivia found Gracen a surprisingly comforting presence and she felt better having him to take care of her.

"So you saw Etienne?" Gracen asked after a while.

"It's horrible. He looks so tiny, hooked up to all those machines, lying on that huge bed. According to Eva his chances of waking up are slim, but I don't know what the doctors are saying."

"Maybe it's better he's not suffering anymore."

"I thought you didn't believe he was really suffering."

"I have no idea what I think anymore. Do you still think he was?"

"More than ever. Eva told me about all the things Alicia used to do to her as a child and they're...disgusting. Brilliant, too, in their own sick way. Alicia knows how to cover her ass."

"What are you going to do if he recovers?"

"What can I do? I'll probably be out of a job by then." Before Gracen could respond, there was a knock at the door. Olivia sighed, considered ignoring it, then got up and headed for the door. When she looked out and saw Alicia, she shook her head and then opened the door reluctantly. "What do you want?"

"I told you to stay away from my son."

"Yeah, we've been through all this before. Isn't taking away my job enough for you?"

"You lost your job?" She didn't seem particularly surprised, but the note of triumph Olivia expected wasn't there, either.

"Not officially, but I'm sure you can't wait to complain about me to anyone who'll listen."

"You misunderstand me, Detective. All I want if for you to leave my son alone." She handed Olivia a large envelope. "It's a restraining order. Come near me or my son again and you'll lose more than your job, Detective; I'll see to it you lose your freedom, too."

"You're letting me keep my job?" Olivia hardly dared to believe it.

"Why would I want to destroy the career of a dedicated detective like you? I'm not a vindictive bitch; I only want my son to be left in peace."

Olivia considered picking a fight, asking why Alicia was so keen to keep her son away from a 'dedicated detective', but thought better of it. Her career was still hanging by a thread, after all, and Alicia was holding a very sharp pair of scissors. Instead she just nodded and closed the door, staring down at the envelope.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"She told you to leave her and her son alone?"

"Yes."

"But you went against her wishes on more than one occasion."

"Etienne came to my apartment, he told me he was alone and hungry, what was I supposed to do?"

"He was alone and hungry, but you didn't think he was being abused?" Olivia was silent. She knew she had just set herself up. "So you did think he was being abused. Why didn't you report it? You're a detective, in special victims unit, no less."

"I had no proof. Etienne wouldn't admit to being harmed and Alicia told me later that she had called a babysitter. I was worried reporting her without enough evidence to convict would only lead to Etienne getting hurt."

"So instead you continued to befriend the boy, against his mother's wishes. And then, when he is lying in the hospital and his mother is out of her mind with worry, you go against her wishes yet again. What were you going at that hospital?"

"I only wanted to see Etienne. No one would tell me for sure how he was doing."

"You thought that was a good idea?"

"I didn't see the harm in it."

"You took Evangeline Cadot with you. Did you know about the restraining order?"

"Of course not, I never would have suggested she come with me if I had known."

The IAB detective (Olivia couldn't remember his name, she was too exhausted and stressed to take note of it) sat down finally and stared at Olivia for a minute before saying, "What good did you think it would do to visit Etienne?"

"I told you, I just wanted to know how he was doing. I couldn't ask the doctors, so I wanted to see for myself. Eva was worried about him, so I took her with me."

"Were you worried about him?"

"Of course, he's in a coma."

"So you feel...attached to this kid, you care about him." Olivia had just stepped in it again. Dammit.

"Fine, I got too close to the case, I let it get personal, and I screwed up, is that what you want to hear?"

"No, I don't want to hear about detectives screwing up." Olivia just shook her head and stared down at the table. "One last question: Do you think Alicia was responsible for Etienne's accident?"

Olivia lifted her eyes slowly to meet his. She didn't respond, and there was a tense silence between them. Finally he stood up, breaking the silence. "We'll be in touch, Detective. I suggest you stay as far away from these people as possible from now on."

Olivia went back to her apartment, got changed into a sleek, simple dress and headed to the bistro where Gracen was waiting for her. He was slouching in his chair and made no effort to straighten up when she arrived, which was unusual. He didn't smile, either, and Olivia sat down nervously. "Who died?" She asked, meaning to joke but she couldn't help worrying he might answer her.

"Etienne's awake."

"What? How do you know? When?" She had too many questions.

"He called me."

"What?!"

"He called me from the phone in his room about a couple hours ago. I gave my number to him a while ago. Gave him yours, too, but he couldn't remember it. That's why he called, to get your number, but I told him you were out of town and didn't have your phone. He was disappointed, but he sounds alright."

"Did he tell you anything?"

"He said his mom was at work. She wouldn't even call in sick to spend time with him. I went to see him and I asked him what happened. At first he just kept telling me it was an accident. I finally got him to say he didn't remember leaving any toys on the stairs, because he's terrified of getting it trouble, but he wouldn't admit he was pushed."

"But you think he was?"

"He's terrified. Alicia probably told him no one would believe him."

"I have to go see him." Olivia stood up but Gracen grabbed her arm and she sat back down. "Gracen, I have to see him. If Alicia gets the chance she'll kill him."

"Then you need to report her or charge her."

"Why didn't you call me earlier?"

"By the time I left I didn't even have time to change." Olivia now noticed that Gracen was wearing worn out jeans and a faded t-shirt rather than his usual stylish trousers and dress shirt. "I figured it'd be easier to just come here and talk to you face to face."

"I gotta talk to Elliot." She stood up and gave him an apologetic look. He just smiled and stood up to follow her out.

Olivia didn't bother going home to change. Gracen drove her straight to the station and followed her up to the SVU squad room. Elliot couldn't help staring at the mismatched couple as they headed towards him. "I've heard women like rugged men but you might be pushing it a little," Munch said as they passed him. Olivia ignored him but Gracen flashed him a smile.

"Etienne's awake," Olivia said before Elliot could speak.

"And..."

"We need to get him away from Alicia. She pushed him down those stairs, I know it."

"Liv, there's no evidence of that. Unless Etienne..."

"Just let me talk to him, I know he'll tell me what happened."

"First of all, you don't have your badge back yet. And even if you did, the restraining order is still in place."

"How much merit is that order gonna have when she's brought up on charges of child abuse?"

Elliot sighed. "If you want to file a report on the abuse, I'll do what I can, but you can't go near Etienne."

Olivia looked miserable. Gracen stepped forward and put an arm around Olivia. "I'll report the abuse. Olivia's name on the file is only going to give fuel to the defence case." Elliot nodded and set Gracen up in an interview room. Olivia went home to change while Gracen talked to Elliot. She changed into jeans, a t-shirt and a dark hoodie. Rather than returning to the station right away, she called Eva.

"He's awake? How'd you find out? I thought Alicia got a restraining order."

"She did. He called Gracen. He's at the station now talking to my partner. Are you still willing to testify?"

"Of course, but it won't do any good. Did Etienne say anything about what happened?"

"He won't admit anything. I need to talk to him but it's not going to be easy getting around the restraining order. Once the charges are laid, though, I should be able to get it suspended for the investigation. After all, it already looks suspicious. A suspected child abuser getting a restraining order against a detective working in the very unit that investigates child abuse cases? It shouldnt be too hard to get it dropped, or at least suspended for the investigation."

"I hope this works."

"It will, Eva. Trust me."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"You bitch! You bitch, they're taking my son away because of you! Your name isn't on that report but I know it was you!" Two security guards were now struggling to drag Alicia away from Olivia, who had just entered the SVU squadroom.

"Lovely woman," Olivia said as she approached Elliot.

He smiled. "I've got good news." Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Got the restraining order lifted – temporarily, at least. One IAB cleared you it was a piece of cake. Etienne's on his way over."

Olivia was so happy she threw her arms around Elliot. She had been worrying for days that IAB wouldn't give her her job back, but they had ruled in her favour in the end. Olivia wasn't entirely sure why, but she wasn't about to question her good fortune. All her energy needed to go into securing Etienne's future; she intended to keep her promise to him and to Eva. It would be impossible though unless she could get Etienne to open up to her. But she couldn't think about that, and she couldn't let Etienne know that. She had never been so nervous about an interview with a victim.

When Etienne walked through the door, accompanied by two police officers, he broke free of them and raced towards Olivia. She scooped him up and kissed him on the cheek, not caring about her coworkers. "Olivia! I missed you. Why didn't you come see me?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I wanted to see you. I was out of the city and it took me a while to get back. But I'm here now and we're going to figure this all out together, okay?" Etienne nodded. She set him down and took his hand to lead him to an empty interview room where they could talk in private. She lifted him up to sit on the table and then sat down in a chair so he was looking down at her.

"Did someone explain what happened to you?"

"They told me I was asleep for a long time, cause I hit my head really hard. I feel fine now, though." He was swinging his feet casually and talking cheerfully; Olivia hoped she could keep it that way.

"I'm glad you're better. I was worried about you." Etienne smiled. "Have you talked to your mom since you woke up?"

His feet stopped swinging. "Yeah. She was really worried about me, too."

"What did she say to you?" Olivia rested her hand comfortingly on Etienne's. He shrugged, looking away from Olivia. "Etienne, I know you're scared. I know you don't want to hurt your mom, but I need you to talk to me. You trust me, right?"

Etienne turned his gaze slowly back to Olivia. "I guess so."

"And you know I only want to protect you, right?" Etienne nodded. "This isn't an easy thing to hear, Etienne, but your mom hasn't been a very good mom to you. You don't want to hurt her and I understand that, but trust me: nothing she does is your fault. You're a great kid and you don't deserve to be hurt. If she hurt you, Etienne, I need you to tell me. As soon as you tell me what happened I will make sure she never hurts you again."

Etienne was looking down at his hands rather than at Olivia. Tears were sliding slowly down his cheeks, but he was so still and silent that Olivia didn't even realize until a tear fell onto Etienne's pant leg. "She said no one will believe me. She said you're only pretending to believe me because you're a police officer and it's your job, but there isn't any evidence so you can't arrest her."

"She was lying, Etienne. She knows the only person who can stop this abuse is you, so she made you believe you couldn't do it. I promise you, Etienne, all you have to do is tell me what happened, tell me how she treats you, and I can help you." Olivia reached up and wiped away his tears gently.

Etienne met Olivia's gaze. "If I tell you what happened I won't live with my mommy anymore, right?"

"That's right." Olivia expected him to ask where he would be living instead and wondered how she would answer. She didn't really know the answer to that yet.

"Does that mean you can be my mommy?" The question floored Olivia; she hadn't been expecting anything like that.

"Etienne...I can't. But I promise I'll find you a great home with a mom and dad who will give you all the love and attention you deserve."

"But why can't I live with you? I thought you loved me!"

"It's not about what I want, Etienne. I'm not allowed to adopt you."

"But you're a police officer, you can adopt me if you want! My mommy was right, you don't care about me at all!" Etienne jumped off the table and tried to run but Olivia grabbed him easily around the waist and scooped him into her lap as he started to cry.

"I'm sorry, Etienne, I'm so sorry. I do care about you, but even a police officer has to follow the rules. I'll visit you every chance I get and-"

"No! No, you said you cared but you lied! You don't care about me! You just want to put my mommy in jail!" Olivia couldn't believe it had gone so wrong so fast.

Unable to hold the squirming child any longer without hurting him, Olivia released her grip on Etienne and he raced for the door. He wrenched it open and ran outside, immediately crashing into Elliot. "Hey buddy, where are you off to in such a hurry?" He smiled but Etienne just stared up at him, terrified. Olivia knew Etienne's English was better than he was letting on, but right now he was too upset to comprehend Elliot's words.

"Etienne, please - come back inside and we can talk about this." Olivia glanced up at Elliot with a look that told him just how badly things were going.

Etienne looked at Olivia, then back at Elliot, who was blocking his path. He knew to some degree he had a choice, but he couldn't see any easy way out. Instead of trying to run again, he sniffed, wiped his tears on the back of his sleeve and went back into the interview room. Olivia closed the door and sat down again, letting Etienne wander wherever he wanted. "Why don't we make a deal?"

Etienne looked up at her but didn't look hopeful. "If I promise to find you a nice family, not too far from where I live, will you tell me what happened?" Etienne was silent. "Etienne, if you don't talk to me I can't help you anymore. You'll have to go back to your mom and I won't be able to see you anymore."

Etienne looked at her in shock, his eyes filling with tears again. "Why not?"

"You mom has a special piece of paper that says I'm not allowed anywhere you or her. Right now the police think your mom might be lying about your accident, so they're letting me talk to you despite that piece of paper. But if you tell me it's not a lie, and it really was just an accident, the police will have no more reason to think your mom is lying. I won't be able to talk to you anymore."

"But it's just a piece of paper. It can't hurt you, right?"

"The paper says that if I go near you or talk to you, I can get in a lot of trouble."

"Like what?"

"I'll lose my job, and I'll probably be arrested and put in jail." Etienne looked horrified. Olivia hadn't wanted to tell him about the restraining order, but she didn't see any other choice now. "Etienne," she leaned forward in her chair, "what happened the day you fell down the stairs?"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Just gonna drown your sorrows?"

"I think it takes more than a beer and a half to drown anything." Elliot sat down on the arm of the couch where Olivia was curled up with a beer in her hand. She had taken a few days off work and he was worried, so he had decided to drop by and make sure she was okay. Of course that wasn't his whole reason for visiting.

"We found someone interested in adopting Etienne."

Olivia sat up. "Already? Alicia's trial date hasn't even been set yet!"

"I know. He would technically be a foster parent until everything gets settled, but he says he intends to adopt Etienne officially when it's all over."

"How does he even know about Etienne?"

Elliot shrugged. "I might have some contacts. And I might have told them about Etienne, and they might be telling their friends. You know how these things get around." He smiled. They weren't supposed to be so involved in a case, and using contacts to find a home for an abused child wasn't normal practice. Elliot knew how much this particular case mattered to Olivia, though, and she was grateful. "I thought you'd want to meet him. He's a single guy so he's got a lot going against him, but apparently he has a lot of family and friends here for support. He has a really flexible job, too, which will probably earn him some bonus points."

Olivia was already getting her coat and slipping on her running shoes. "Let's go." She had promised she would find a good home for Etienne and she wanted to know exactly who was so interested. A single dad wasn't exactly what she had in mind, but if he could be a good father to Etienne she wouldn't object. She only hoped he didn't live outside the city.

The traffic was bad and Olivia was nearly out of her mind with impatience. The car had barely stopped when she opened the door and headed up the stairs to the precinct. He – whoever 'he' was – was waiting for Elliot, who had lied about some paperwork that needed to be sorted out, or maybe an interview; Olivia hadn't really been listening to Elliot's explanation. All she knew was that this guy was waiting in the squadroom and she needed to talk to him. If she had any reason to suspect he couldn't provide everything Etienne needed she would fight tooth and nail to keep him away.

"Oli, I thought you were off today?"

"Gracen? What are you doing here?" Olivia tried to give him her full attention, but she was itching to find whoever she was looking for. She managed to relax a little when she realized she had no idea who she was looking for, and would need to wait for Elliot to point him out.

"You could have waited for me," Elliot said, arriving only a few seconds after Olivia. He saw Gracen and smiled. "Never mind; seems you don't need me."

"What?" Olivia looked at him, puzzled. Elliot just gave a quick goodbye and headed off down the hall. Olivia looked back at Gracen. "Seriously, what are you doing here?"

"Elliot didn't tell you?"

"Tell me wha...." Olivia could have smacked herself for not cluing in sooner. "You? You're the guy he was telling me about?"

He smiled. "I guess I am."

"Gracen, you don't have to do this."

"Don't flatter yourself, Olivia; I'm not doing this for you. I care about Etienne just as much as you do and I want to adopt him. I have the money, the flexible hours, the family support, everything he needs. If you want to be a part of this, great, but it's not about you."

"I didn't know you felt that way about him."

"So...do you approve?"

Olivia laughed. "Yes, I approve." They wrapped their arms around each other. "Thank you, Gracen."

"Come on. Let's go give him the good news."


End file.
